Mapusa: Alleging betrayal of the legislative intent behind the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar on Monday launched a scathing attack on state govt over the rampant “misuse” of Section 39A of the act. He claimed that while the amendment was passed under the guise of helping local residents regularise small orchard plots, it was now being weaponised to facilitate the conversion of millions of square metres of eco-sensitive land for “outsiders”.The MLA said that nearly 60 lakh sqm across Mandrem are in the process of provisional conversion.“This is not just my issue; it is a fight for the identity of local citizens,” Arolkar stated, and added that his attempts to raise the matter in the assembly were suppressed.He said that at Mandrem, approximately 2.7 lakh sqm of land has already been converted without the consent of the local panchayats or residents.The Mandrem legislator earlier joined forces with Arambol villagers to protest a controversial proposal to convert 3.5 lakh sqm of private forest in the Bhatwadi area into a settlement zone. Residents fear the project would destroy perennial water sources. He has called on all MLAs to set aside political affiliations and come together to protect Goa’s hills and salt pans from the “builder-politician nexus”.
